Gele Chicken Farm

This SolarWall system was installed in 2001, and was projected to have annual savings of $8,000/year. This means that since that system has been in operation for over 10+ years, Gele Chicken Farm has saved over $100,000 with their SolarWall system. It also means that for every 10 years of operation, the SolarWall system is eliminating approximately 300 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “I’m amazed to see the heat drawn in from the cladding when the system is turned on. The heat goes where it should – into the drying process.” -Mario Gelé, Elevage et grains Gelé Performance Surface Area: 1,700ft2 (158m2 ) Energy Savings: 534 GJ /year CO2 Reduction: 29.5 tons/year

Background

At the Gelé Chicken Farm located near Sherbrooke, Quebec,
chicken manure is dried and used as fertilizer. The
owners were looking to improve their current drying process
with an energy and cost efficient alternative to fossil
fuels. In any drying operation, the cost of heating the air is
always a significant amount of money, and given the cold
winter climate that is typical in Quebec, it represented a
large opportunity to reduce costs.

Solution

A black SolarWall®
system was installed by the owner at a
75-degree angle to maximize energy gain. The system
dries 3300 kg of manure a day, from an initial moisture
content of 75% to a final moisture content of 25%. The
SolarWall®
system is connected to a variable speed fan to
fully utilize available solar energy.
The manure is exposed to the solar heated air while passing
over conveyor belts. At the end of the drying chamber,
it is ready for packaging and distribution.